Medical errors account for nearly 100,000 deaths each year, estimates the Institute of Medicine, a Washington-based policy research organization. Many other patients live with debilitating conditions after falling victim to such negligence. Toward its ongoing dedication to hold doctors and other medical professionals accountable for the tragic injuries they inflict with substandard care, Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., one of the leading medical malpractice and personal injury litigation law firms in America, is gratified by a recent obstetrical malpractice suit that yielded an $8 million settlement.

The case, filed in Kings County, New York, involved an infant who suffered brain damage at birth due to a traumatic and delayed delivery. The child now lives with an intractable seizure disorder—seizures that cannot be controlled with medication. The monetary award derived from this case will be used by his young parents to help mitigate the overwhelming cost of caring for him for the rest of his life.

Allan Zelikovic, who handled the case and is the head of the Medical Malpractice Unit at Weitz & Luxenberg said, “The care this young mother received would be considered appalling even if it had occurred in a Third-World country. As a result, this child, his parents, and his siblings will be responsible for his care for the rest of his life. The only consolation is that now they know they can afford to get him the best treatment.”

The hospital resident tasked with measuring the fetal heart rate encountered the baby’s face in the birth canal. This revealed that a caesarian section was indicated, as opposed to a vaginal birth. However, when she relayed this information to the attending physician, he summarily dismissed it, insisting upon delivering the baby ‘naturally.'”

As a result, the baby suffered facial abrasions due to his facial skin being stretched excessively while being forced down the birth canal face-first. Upon his delivery, it also became obvious that his neurological status was compromised by both the blunt force trauma of the delivery and the deprivation of oxygen.

Appallingly, all of this irreversible damage could have been prevented with entirely standard medical care. Those who have been affected by medical malpractice may contact Weitz & Luxenberg via the form.